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Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold had a challenging start to his NFL career after being drafted 3rd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.
After a tough three years in New York, Darnold bounced around, but during his stint with the San Francisco 49ers, it appeared as though he learned about being an NFL QB under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Darnold would then parlay that knowledge into an impressive 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings. Moreover, he then signed as a free agent with the Seahawks and proved that his 2024 campaign was no fluke.
Nonetheless, WFAN’s Shaun Morash says the Jets should’ve reconsidered bringing back the more confident Darnold rather than pursuing a QB like Justin Fields.
“Not only did the Jets fail to develop Sam Darnold to the point that here he is eight years later, knocking on the door of a Super Bowl, [but] they [also] could have gotten him back this past offseason when they were looking for a quarterback, and you rushed to sign Justin freaking Fields,” Morash said in a video posted by WFAN on Jan. 23.
“Sam Darnold had such a sour taste in his mouth for how the Jets handled and developed them, that a completely new regime either didn’t think it was even a possibility to bring him back, or Sam considered it. We’re still looking for this Jet quarterback. They had Justin Fields. They could have signed the guy knocking on the door of the Super Bowl. They’ve missed on Sam Darnold twice.”
Seahawks’ Same Darnold Will Look to Overcome Rams
If the Seahawks want to reach the Super Bowl, Darnold will need to take care of the football, something he’s struggled with against the Los Angeles Rams.
Darnold had a passer rating of 62.4, 549 passing yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions in two games against the Rams this season, per StatMuse. Los Angeles have been a thorn in the Seahawks’ side this season.
As a result, former Seahawks star Richard Sherman believes that Darnold will need to overcome this hurdle that plagued him this season to get Seattle to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX.
“If you’re Sam Darnold, you thought you overcame your nightmares with the Rams,” Sherman said on the Jan. 19 edition of “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “You thought you had overcome them. You thought, ‘Hey, I only had to see it once. I killed Freddy Krueger. I killed him. He’s dead.’
“… But he’s going to have to overcome. They’re going to bring back all the stats about the Rams’ pressure and how Sam Darnold struggled against it. And so, as high as we are for the Seattle Seahawks right now, they’re on the moon. They are freaking playing lights-out football defensively.”
Sam Darnold Should Have Confidence Against the Rams
Darnold’s two touchdowns came in the Seahawks’ comeback overtime win on Dec. 18, which put Seattle in the driver’s seat to win the NFC West and secure the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Because of that performance late in the regular season, Darnold could have the belief that he can perform well for four quarters against Los Angeles.
“Now, if I’m Sam Darnold, I watched the last drive in the fourth quarter of that game against the Rams, and I feel pretty good, “ Sherman added. “You were cooking with grease. You were James Harden in the clutch, cooking. So, let’s get back to cooking. Run the football. [Kenneth Walker III] is running as good as he has in his entire career.
“Had three touchdowns in the last game, tying Shaun Alexander for the franchise record [in a postseason game]. If they can do that let that defense just eat, Seattle Seahawks back in the Super Bowl.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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